The clival canal.

In a skull of an approximately 35-year-old belonging to the didactical collection of the University of Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil, it was noted the clival canal of the occipital portion of the clivus (Figure). According to recent descriptions1, a clival canal was identified in 1.6% of skulls and there is limited information on bony canals in the occipital part of the clivus. Moreover, the presence of clival canal hasn’t been reported in classic anatomical textbooks. The finding of a clival canal might interfere with neurosurgical operations in the clival region and possibly provoke symptoms of the basilar artery, as well as of the basilar plexus2. In addition, clinicians and radiologists should take into account this variability when managing cerebral venous disorders or interpreting imaging studies of the skull base3. To our knowledge, there is no evidence in the current literature on the incidence of this variation in the population of our country. Thus, this report will be useful to increase the knowledge about this region that has considerable clinical interest2,4 (clival tumours had very high mortality and morbidity rates) 5, and finally to help promoting future studies in this area. Deivis de Campos1, 2, Geraldo Pereira Jotz3, Guilherme Reghelin Goulart2, Tais Malysz3,4